1

2014 Competitive Call for Research Proposals

GUIDELINES FOR APPLICANTS –

GRADUATE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME (CALL SPECIFICATION E 1.7)

DEADLINE FOR COMPLETED APPLICATION SUBMISSION IN PDF AND BUDGET SHEETS VIA EMAIL TO research@agriculture.gov.ie

THURSDAY 8th MAY 2014@1pm

All applications will be treated in confidence and no information contained therein will be communicated to any third party without the written permission of the applicant except insofar as

is specifically required for the evaluation of the proposal.

2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION & ELIGIBILITY...................................................................................... 3 2. APPLICATION SUBMISSION .......................................................................................... 3

3. CRITERIA FOR ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSALS .................................................................. 4

4. CONTRACT NEGOTIATION & PROCEDURE FOR AWARD OF GRANT................................. 5

5. FUNDING PAYMENT PROCEDURE .................................................................................. 6

6. INFORMATION & PUBLICITY.......................................................................................... 7

7. FURTHER INFORMATION............................................................................................... 7

ANNEX 1: TECHNICAL GUIDELINES FOR THE COMPLETION OF APPLICATION FORMS .......... 8

3

1. INTRODUCTION AND ELIGIBILITY

A key output of Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine’s (DAFM) research funding

programmes are high quality postgraduates and post doctorates with specialist scientific skills which

benefit the Irish Agri-Food, Marine and Forestry Sector. DAFM would like to continue to complement

this specialist scientific expertise with the additional knowledge and skills required to meet the future

needs of the Agri-Food, Marine and Forestry Sector. DAFM have funded a graduate development

programme since 2007 however the funding for this programme is now drawing to a close. DAFM is

therefore inviting applications for funding under its 2014 Research Call from qualified Research

Institutions for the development and provision of new Graduate Development Programme.

The Programme should be focussed on the Agri-Food, Marine and Forestry Sector, and should

endeavour to enhance the knowledge and transferable skills of Masters and PhD science students and

early stage researchers engaged in publicly funded agri-food, marine and forestry research. The

Programme should fulfil the following objectives:

Enhance a range of industry relevant knowledge and transferable skills;

Provide an interface between industry and academia through the provision of industry

relevant education, including innovation and entrepreneurship focused courses;

Be relevant and considerate of the needs of the Agri-Food, Marine and Forestry Sector;

Contribute to the development of Ireland’s Bioeconomy;

Be sustainable, of high quality, both in terms of management and delivery;

Enable skilled graduates of publicly funded research in agriculture, food, marine and forestry

to compete in an international scientific and / or industrial arena for employment.

Although not a requirement it may also include, on a self financing basis, an element of Continuous

Professional Development for scientific professionals working in the public or private sectors of the

agriculture, food, marine or forestry industry. In such cases full details should be provided including the

rationale, operational features, synergies with core graduate programme, costings including cost

recovery details to demonstrate that this element is at least self financing and, possibly/preferably,

contributes financially to the operation of the core graduate training element.

Applications are invited from Research Institutions including Teagasc, Universities and the Institutes of

Technology who are involved in DAFM funded programmes and have the capability to develop,

manage and sustain a Graduate Development Programme. Public Research Performing Organisations

based in Northern Ireland with similar capability are eligible to participate as partners in such

proposals on a self-financing basis. Multidisciplinary, inter-institutional collaboration is strongly

encouraged however a programme co-ordinator from the Lead Institution will be responsible for co-

ordinating the administrative arrangements in relation to any grant awarded.

2. APPLICATION SUBMISSION

All completed application forms must be signed by the Vice President of Research/Head of Research or

equivalent within the lead research organisation. Applications should be submitted electronically from

4

the lead research organisation to research@agriculture.gov.ie with the following details in the Subject

box of the email – Research Theme, Programme Coordinator and Lead Research Organisation.

(For example: Animal Production, Joe Bloggs, University College Cork). Receipt of applications will be

acknowledged by email. All applications should comply with the guidelines below; those that do not

adhere to the guidelines will not be reviewed and will be returned to the applicant.

Applications will only be accepted on the relevant DAFM 2014 Research Call Application Form

and Budget Tables Call 2014 which are available to download from

www.agriculture.gov.ie/research. All sections of the application form must be completed.

Incomplete applications will be returned without review to the applicant after the deadline

submission date.

All text in attachments should be written in single-spacing using at least 11 point font, with at

least 2.54 cm (1 in) right and left margins.

The number of words/pages in any given section must not exceed those stated in

these guidelines.

Appendices, or other unsolicited documentation, (e.g. team member CV’s, letters of support)

are not permitted.

The currency to be used is the euro (€)

Applications received after the stated deadline will not be accepted.

The closing date for receipt of completed application forms and budget sheets is Thursday 8th

May @1pm.

3. CRITERIA FOR ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSALS

Only completed applications received on or before the closing date specified in the public call for

proposals will be assessed for funding. The proposals will be assessed according to the following

three stage process:

1. Each application will be initially assessed by DAFM staff to ensure that it is complete and

contains adequate information to properly assess the programme proposal. Any proposal that does

not adequately address the specifics of the topic E 1.7 of the Call Specification will be deemed

ineligible at this stage.

2. Following this preliminary assessment, the programme proposal will be assigned to an

Expert Evaluation Panel. The panels established for this purpose will consist of experts from

academia, the agri-food industry and the public service.

Expert evaluators will take account of the key elements of DAFM’s research funding

5

programmes when evaluating and prioritising the proposals according to the following criteria:

Relevance and Impact

Relevance of the modules in the Programme to enhancing the development of agri-food,

marine and forestry science students and early stage researchers, in accordance with the

objectives outlined above.

Benefits accruing to agri-food, marine and forestry science students and early stage

researchers and potential impact for the agri-food, marine and forestry industry.

Training and Development Programme Excellence

The quality and content of the programme and the delivery plan.

Qualification of the key personnel and track record of the Institutions including access to

relevant facilities.

Quality and Efficiency of Implementation including Costs

The management plan for the Programme.

Appropriateness of costings and value for money.

Leveraging of matching funds, Benefit in Kind, etc.

Each of the three criteria will be marked out of ten and the total score will be converted into

a percentage (%) mark. In order to be considered eligible for funding, proposals must achieve:

a. At least 6/10 for training and development excellence and;

b. An overall score of (18/30) - at least 60%.

Applicants who have demonstrated involvement in (or at least applied for funding to) the EU

Framework Programme will be favoured where two applications have passed the threshold and have

received the same overall score.

3. Following the expert evaluation stage, all programme applications considered eligible for

funding will be forwarded to the DAFM Competitive Research Committee comprising of high level

representatives from the public sector and industry. This Committee will advise DAFM on the

programme to be funded.

All applicants will be notified of the outcome of the selection process.

4. CONTRACT NEGOTIATION & PROCEDURE FOR AWARD OF GRANT

The coordinators of proposals selected for funding will be informed of the indicative level of funding

and will be invited to address any issues raised by the Expert Evaluators and the DAFM Competitive

Research Committee within a given timeframe. As part of the contract negotiations, DAFM may also:

Seek additional information it considers necessary on the details of the

programme.

Negotiate adjustments to proposal details to achieve consistency in approach across

6

programmes in this Call. DAFM reserve the right to group successful proposals into a larger

programme as appropriate at the award / implementation stage.

Following successful contract negotiations, an award letter will be issued to t h e successful

applicants. This letter will outline the contractual obligations and conditions that will apply to the

award. Successful applicants must acknowledge receipt of the award letter and acceptance of the

contract conditions. In accepting the award, the applicant agrees to carry out the programme

according to the work programme as laid out in the finalised programme proposal and the agreed

budget.

5. FUNDING PAYMENT PROCEDURE

The grant rate may be up to 100% funding for eligible costs. Eligible costs are the costs necessarily

incurred in carrying out the research programme as described in the programme document. They

must fulfil the following conditions:

Be wholly necessary for the programme.

Be incurred during the timeframe of the programme.

Be recorded in separate financial accounts that will be maintained throughout the duration

of the programme and reported on as required.

Eligible costs will be allowed in the following categories:

(a) Staff Costs

(b) E q u i p m e n t

(c) Travel & Subsistence

(d) Consumables

(e) Overheads

(f) Other agreed costs

Please refer to Annex 1 (Section 6: Budget Details) for specific guidelines in relation to these categories.

Following acceptance of the contract conditions, an advance payment may be made.

Further payments will be dependent on satisfactory progress as assessed by DAFM on submission of

progress reports, to include a technical report and details on financial expenditure incurred in the

reporting period.

A final report will also be required. 20% of the grant will be withheld until the final report is

submitted, evaluated and deemed acceptable.

The beneficiary must maintain separate records for all transactions relating to the programme to

be aided and must make this and all supporting documents available as and when required for

examination by officers of DAFM (a separate file holding all documents relating to the programme

7

must be kept).

Officers of DAFM must be allowed access to the beneficiary’s premises at all reasonable times for

the purposes of assessing the progress of programmes and examining the financial and other

records relating to it. DAFM aims to carry out on site inspection for all programmes/programmes at

least once during their lifetime.

In the event of failure by a beneficiary to comply with any or all of the grant aid conditions, payment

of aid may be reduced, suspended or cancelled.

Payment of the final claim is dependent on DAFM being satisfied that the programme has been

successfully completed.

6. INFORMATION & PUBLICITY

(a) In disseminating research achievements, public RPOs should acknowledge that the programme was

funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine under the FIRM/Stimulus/CoFoRD

programme. The Department’s logo may be obtained from DAFM at the address provided in Section

7.

(b) DAFM will publicise details of applications and awards made under this measure.

(c) Information supplied to DAFM may be disclosed in response to a request under the Freedom of

Information Act 1997 and 2003, and in accordance with the conditions of those Acts.

C T U A L P R O P E R T Y

7. F U R T H E R I N F O R M A T I O N

Any enquiry with regard to the above should be addressed to:

Maureen O’Sullivan,

Research Division,

Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine,

Kildare Street,

Dublin 2.

Phone No: (01) 6072142

E-mail: research@agriculture.gov.ie

8

ANNEX 1

TECHNICIAL GUIDELINES FOR THE COMPLETION OF APPLICATION FORMS

The proposal form is in six sections, as follows:

Section 1: Applicant Details

Section 2: Programme Information

Section 3: Coordinator and Collaborator Research Funding History

Section 4: Programme Management and Integration

Section 5: Relevant References

Section 6: Budget Details

The relevant part of each section must be completed.

SECTION 1: APPLICANT DETAILS

Research Themes

The proposal should be classified under one or more of the research themes listed in Section 1 of the

Programme Application. Please indicate with an X the research theme(s) under which the proposal is

being submitted.

Research Objectives

Details of the Research Objective(s) being addressed by the proposal including the corresponding

code(s) from the Call Specification (e.g. A1.1 Genetic Selection for Animal Health)

Programme Title

Title, as given by the lead Institution. Please keep the title as short as possible.

Acronym

Please provide a suitable acronym for the programme, preferably one that is easy to pronounce.

Lead Institution

Please indicate the lead institution responsible for the programme. This is the Institution where

the Programme Coordinator and / or the Principal Investigator are employed.

Principal Investigator

Each programme should have a principal investigator (PI) who must be a permanent member of staff.

The principal investigator and the programme coordinator may be the same person. If that is the

case, please indicate this in the Application Form.

9

Programme Coordinator

Each programme must have only one, named coordinator. The programme coordinator may be either

a permanent member of staff or an experienced contract researcher with a PhD qualification and a

contract that extends beyond the end date of the programme.

The role of the programme coordinator is pivotal to the programme. All written communications to

DAFM must be via the programme coordinator. The programme coordinator is responsible for

completing and signing off all programme reports. The programme coordinator assumes responsibility

for the budget figures and in doing so must ensure that the programme remains within the budget and

that all expenditure is correctly and fully accounted for. The programme coordinator must ensure

that all partners and collaborators are kept fully informed on matters relating to the programme and

must ensure that any concerns are appropriately dealt with in a timely manner.

Address/Tel/Mobile/E-Mail

In the case of the programme, these details should be those for the programme coordinator.

Dates

The start and completion date of the programme must be in dd/mm/yy format and must be the first

day of a month. The target start date of 01/11/14 should be reported, bearing in mind that the grant

award contract is unlikely to be finalised before the autumn of 2014.

Collaborating Institutions

All institutions involved should be listed showing individual Total Programme Costs (including financial

contributions) and the grant requested for each institution. A contact name (i.e. collaborating

researcher) for each institution should also be included. Where applicable, details of the Northern

Irish partner should be included in this section. (Further financial information in respect of the

Northern Irish partner should be captured in Table 3 of the Budget sheets – see also Section 6: Budget

Details).

SECTION 2: PROGRAMME INFORMATION

Section 2 requires the completion of statements that describe the programme, place it in context,

specify objectives and outline potential benefits. Responses should be kept brief, preferably expressed

in point form and repetition should be avoided.

The following indicate the type of responses required to the various sub-sections within Section 2. The

number of words in any given section must not exceed amount stated below.

2.1 Outline of Programme

The outline of the programme should be short, precise and not more than 200 words. It should

provide a clear description of the objectives of the programme proposal and how these objectives will

be achieved.

10

2.2 Programme Context / Relevance

I. This section should answer the question: ‘why is this programme needed?’ in not more than 400

words. It should clearly outline the rationale for undertaking the programme. It should justify the

need for the programme with regard to industry / end users, the relevance of the proposed

programme in DAFM Research Funding Programmes. The magnitude of the problem identified

should be supported with quantitative, factual evidence.

II. The proposed work should be set in context of previous national programme(s), in not more than

400 words.

III. This section should demonstrate how the current research proposal aligns to broader government

policy including the Government’s Action Plan for Jobs, Food Harvest 2020 report, Harnessing Our

Ocean Wealth, and other relevant national policy documents in not more than 200 words.

V. This section should demonstrate how the current research proposal aligns to broader European /

International Research Initiatives and other relevant European/International

policy/regulatory/legislative drivers in not more than 200 words.

2.3 Programme Details

This section should provide the details on the proposed make up of the programme, the modules to

be conducted and any other training and development work, including the rationale for the specific

items. The methods to be used should also be detailed with an explanation for same. In addition

details of the location and dates for the proposed modules, events, numbers to be facilitated etc.

SECTION 3: COORDINATOR AND COLLABORATOR RESEARCH FUNDING HISTORY

3.1 Track record of the coordinator and individual collaborators in leveraging research and training

funding

This section should provide a brief summary of the track record of the coordinator and collaborators in

obtaining additional non-exchequer funding either through external research and training funding

programmes (e.g. FP7) and/or Industry sources. Information provided under this section should relate

to the period 2008-Present.

In the event that proposals are tied on the same score, evidence that the coordinator has applied for

non exchequer funding over the past 5 years may result in a higher final ranking.

SECTION 4: PROGRAMME MANAGEMENT AND INTEGRATION

Experience and capability of the programme team is one of the criteria on which the proposals are

evaluated. It is necessary to provide sufficient information to demonstrate that the programme will be

11

well managed and coordinated, and that mechanisms for the exchange of information have been

formalised (i.e. team meetings, teleconferences etc.). Obviously, the more complex the programme

and the greater the number of collaborators, the greater the need for formalised, concrete plans. In

cases where it is planned to use a dedicated Programme Manager the need must be fully justified and

the role clearly documented.

4.1 Management and Integration Plan

This section should provide an outline of the programme management and coordination for the

programme and the institutions involved. Identify any stakeholder involvement in programme, module

development and delivery. Identify any measures required to update the programme over time etc.

Detail in the proposal sustainability initiatives during the funding of the programme and beyond the

funding term. Details of stakeholder discussions, formalisation of training structures, national credit

transfer agreement, collaboration with food graduate programmes in other European programmes and

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) should be included as appropriate. How a CPD element if

proposed would operate should be detailed; such as in terms of module delivery and funding. It should

also articulate how this element would underpin and sustain the core element of the programme –

graduate training.

4.2 Collaborators – Principal Researchers

This section is designed to provide evidence of the capability of the principal researchers to conduct

the programme, both in terms of management skills and scientific expertise. This evidence should be

found within the ‘Brief Résumé’ which should include an outline of managerial capability and a list of

relevant publications (within past five years only). ‘Task responsibilities’ relates to specific

responsibilities within the programme.

4.3 Staff Recruited to the Programme

This section is intended to demonstrate both (i) the nature of the staff being recruited (‘Position’

should denote post doctorate / research assistant / technician etc.) and (ii) their necessity in terms of

the responsibilities they will hold within the programme. The tasks on which they will work should be

included.

4.4 Existing training facilities

It is assumed that the institution(s) will be able to make existing equipment and facilities available to

the programme or may have access to shared facilities in other institutions. This is in order to satisfy

the DAFM condition that funding is provided to institutions that can demonstrate a capability to

manage the programme and deliver the training, however, it also provides evidence in support of

the proposed collaborative links, which is part of the competitive funding process.

SECTION 5: RELEVANT REFERENCES

References that appear in the application should be listed in this section. References should be

listed in alphabetical order in the form and in the following format;

Fewer, D.R., Murphy, O., Cosgrove, J. Echinococcosis - an international public health issue. Research

12

in Veterinary Science 174, 891-902.

In the body of the proposal, the reference should be cited in the form: (Fewer et al., 2003) or ‘….as

stated by Fewer et al., (2003)’.

SECTION 6: BUDGET DETAILS

6.1 Budget Details (See also Section 6.2 Justification of Costs)

Budget details should be completed on the Excel file located at www.agriculture.gov.ie/research

Information on how to complete this file is provided below. When emailing the completed

application, please attach both the completed application and the completed budget tables.

Section 6.1 includes the excel budget tables, instructions for the completion of this file are detailed

below and Section 6.2 provides justification for the costs outlined in the budget sheets.

Guidelines when Completing Budget Details (Section 6.1) using the Excel file provided

Table 1 Summary of Total Grant Requested: This is a linked sheet, with formulas embedded.

Therefore, this sheet will fill out automatically when data is entered into the other linked sheets.

Table 2a Consolidated Budget Sheets: This is a linked sheet, with formulas embedded.

Therefore, this sheet will fill out automatically when data is entered into the other linked sheets.

Table(s) 2b Individual Institute Budget Sheets: Each institute’s budgets must be completed on an

individual worksheet. Each institution must input the percentage claim for overheads in the cell

provided (up to a maximum of 25%). Totals are automatically calculated and are linked into

appropriate summary tables (1 and 2a). All categories must be completed manually except for (a)

‘overheads’ which is automatically calculated and (b) ‘other financial contributions’ which is

linked to Table 3. Please ensure figures for Equipment and staff correspond to figures included in

tables 5 and 6.

Travel & Subsistence

Travel and related subsistence costs for all personnel engaged in undertaking the programme may be

claimed. These costs must be specifically related to a specific identifiable programme task and must

be included on the Institute’s budget sheet. Rates paid cannot exceed those for the Public Sector and

airfares should be economy class.

Consumables

Items of consumables acquired for and used on the programme may be allowed. All consumables

should be necessary and directly related to the carrying out the work of the programme and must be

separately identifiable. A consumable is defined as an item which is used up / expires / is exhausted

over the duration of the programme. It does not include items such as laboratory coats, general safety

equipment, detergents, etc. – these should be met through the overheads. Subscriptions to scientific

13

journals or membership of institutes are not eligible for funding. Repairs to/maintenance of

equipment are not eligible.

Staff Costs

Costs will be allowed for additional staff specifically hired to carry out work on the programme

including postdoctoral researchers/contract researchers, research assistants and research technicians.

It excludes permanent staff employed by the institutions concerned. The staff costs should be in line

with those on the IUA/equivalent scale, commencing at the minimum point of the ‘New

Entrant’/equivalent pay scale. All working time charged to the programme must be recorded

throughout the duration of the programme. All staff working on the programme must be recorded

even if their costs are not being charged to the programme.

Overheads

DAFM will fund up to a maximum of 25% of the direct costs of the programme not including

equipment, sub-contracting and other agreed costs.

Other Agreed Costs

DAFM Research Funding Programmes may agree to fund costs, which are relevant to the approved

programme and are not covered by the categories cited above.

Table 3 Summary of financial contributions:

This table must be completed showing financial contribution from industry (e.g. a forestry company)

and any other sources (e.g. a state body) to each individual institute. Where applicable, the

financial contribution from the Northern Irish partner should be captured here. This does not

include FIRM / RSF / CoFoRD Research Funding Programmes contributions. These figures are

automatically linked to tables 2a and 2b.

Table 4 Summary of non-financial contributions (benefit-in-Kind):

This table must be completed showing any non-financial contributions (benefit-in-kind) from

industry (e.g. a dairy company) and any other sources (e.g. a state body) to each individual institute.

These figures are not linked to tables 2a and 2b and should not be included in the total programme

cost figures.

Table 5 Durable Equipment approved for purchase:

Major items of equipment are not eligible for funding; however, a computer may be included in the

budget if it can be shown to be necessary to the desk studies and otherwise unavailable. Each item

listed in the Equipment List should be included in this section. Please list items of equipment that are

proposed to be purchased or leased. It should be clear exactly what the equipment is, thus the

use of brand names is discouraged. The location of the equipment should be clearly indicated. VAT

should be applicable in accordance with the institutions accounting procedures.

The costs of durable equipment to be charged to the project shall be calculated according to the

following formula: [(A/B) x C x D]

14

A = the period in months during which the durable equipment is used for the project after

invoicing

B = the depreciation period for the durable equipment: 36 months for computer equipment and

60 months for all other items of equipment

C = the actual cost of the durable equipment

D = the percentage of usage of the durable equipment for the project

Leased equipment from external sources is not subject to depreciated calculations and thus full costs

should be included directly in the appropriate rows.

Equipment costs for each institution must equate with the corresponding figure in tables 2b and

must be inputted manually.

Table 6 Summary of Staffing:

All staff working on the programme should be listed and the required information provided under the

various headings. Category codes for all staff must be included as DAFM requires this information for

national reporting. As regards permanent staff employed by the Institutions and any other staff not

paid for by the Institutional Research Grant the cost element alone can be omitted but all other

information should be given. All staff costs should be in line with those on IUA/equivalent scale. The

total costs in this table are calculated automatically. Staff costs for each institution must equate with

the corresponding figure in tables 2b and must be inputted manually.

6.2 Justification of Costs

The cost and value for money of each project is evaluated. This table serves to clarify the basis for

the budgets being requested. Under the budget procedures, there is a certain amount of flexibility

for changes in expenditure across the different budget categories, with the exception of equipment

and overheads, whose budget will be fixed.

6.2.1 Staff: Justify the role, cost and need of each participant in the project (exclude permanent

researchers). Information on the salary scales, point on the salary scale, costs covered by the salary

must be included here. In general, our research funding programmes are focused on early stage

researchers and accordingly DAFM will fund contributions to salaries of staff contracted to work on

the project, commencing at the minimum point of the ‘New Entrant’/equivalent pay scale. However, in

exceptional circumstances where it is well justified in the proposal, a more senior researcher can be

considered. Staffing must be commensurate with the scope and nature of the work involved.

6.2.2 Equipment: Major items of equipment are not eligible for funding, however, a computer may

be included in the budget if it can be shown to be necessary to the project and otherwise

unavailable. Each item listed in the Equipment List should be included in this section. 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 rules will have to be adhered to should

15

the application be successful.

6.2.3 Consumables: Consumables may be identified specifically (i.e. Petri dishes) or by category (i.e.

microbiological culture consumables). Either way, an indication of the amount needed – which

should relate to the information provided in the Task List – their use and justification for their cost is

required.

6.2.4 Travel and Subsistence (T&S): The T&S required for the project should be divided into home

and foreign travel. The information should be sufficiently detailed. The majority of the T&S should be

targeted at the contract researchers and post graduate students involved in the programme.

6.2.5 Other Agreed Costs: A description of what the ‘other’ budget costs cover (eg. software

licences, warranties etc.); the justification for those costs and their necessity to the project should be

supplied.

Ineligible Costs

Examples of Ineligible Costs include, but are not necessarily limited to:

Permanent staff costs

Sick pay, maternity pay, redundancy payments or termination costs

Hospitality or entertainment expenses, except such reasonable expenses accepted as wholly

and exclusively necessary for carrying out the work on the project

Office equipment and supplies

Patent costs;

Journal subscriptions and publication costs;

Repairs to/maintenance of equipment

Unnecessary or unsubstantiated expenditure